Power Rankings, 1-30 | Matchday 21
A new No. 1, a new No. 30, and the same No. 16. Weird, right???
There has been so much fking soccer, man. I logged back-to-back 12-hour days on Saturday and Sunday, and watched at least five hours every day during the week. I just laugh when civilians ask “is this a busy time of year for you?” Mother of mercy.
Anyway, I wrote a whole bunch, as usual, on Sunday night. It was a great MLS matchday, truly, and so I figured it was a good time to compare two teams with similar DNA that have nonetheless gone in different philosophical and tactical directions:
• Nashville's progression, Minnesota's shortcomings & more from Matchday 21
At least one Loons fan got mad at me via a series of since-deleted social media posts, with the overall point1 that the way I’ve written about Minnesota this year indicates that I harbor some deep desire to see them disappear back into true mediocrity.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The whole point I’ve been making is that this team is so close to taking the next, collective step, as Nashville have done. And that Minnesota can do it, and that I badly want to see them do it, and not just for aesthetic reasons, but because it is a better way to win things.
Anyway, we just had our second-to-last two-game week of the season, so as befitting such a busy week, we’ve got a lot of movement in my vote for this week’s MLSsoccer.com Power Rankings:
San Diego FC: Four straight wins, the last three of which came on the road. 8-1-1 in their last 10. Getting answers from scrap-heap guys (Hello, Milan Iloski!), draft picks and teenagers. Anders Dreyer is the MVP. America’s finest team in America’s Finest City.
Nashville SC: As you can tell from the Sunday column, I’m a full-on believer in both this team’s game model and their toughness. And sláinte to BJ Callaghan for starting to develop the kids, which was never a thing in years past.
Philadelphia Union: This team’s really good even when they’re missing 18 guys via injury or international duty. I still have doubts about their ability to be great – of the top nine teams in the rankings, I think they’ve got the lowest ceiling – but they’re not going away.
Vancouver Whitecaps: That was a pretty incredible way to start a five-game road trip.
Columbus Crew: never doubted you bb
Inter Miami: It’s 100% clear that Miami need to commit to the 4-2-3-1 with Messi dropping deep into the midfield to conduct games.2 If they do that, I think they’ll win a trophy this year. If not, I’m pretty sure they won’t.
FC Cincinnati: Don’t love the way this team’s playing, but do love their talent.
Seattle Sounders: They’re getting healthy, are starting to play their best ball, and have one of the league’s easiest schedules from here on out.
LAFC: I was more impressed than not by their CWC performance. Very obviously, though, they need some new additions3 when the window opens in a couple of weeks.
Orlando City: Luis Muriel’s start to the season was too good to last, wasn’t it?
Minnesota United: A good team with the pieces to be very good, and maybe even great. Love the long throws, btw.
RBNY: I am allowing myself to really believe in the Timo Werner thing. And while he was a flop with Spurs, he’s certainly got the tools and the talent to be excellent in MLS.
Chicago Fire: They’ve gone 5W-3L-2D in their past 10. Lots to like about this team right now, even if the defense can still leave me queasy.
San Jose Earthquakes: Only one loss since April so this is probably too low, but those really were two dropped points this weekend.
NYCFC: Up and down and up and down.
Portland Timbers: Need to collect points over the next three outings because their final dozen games of the season are brutal.
New England Revolution: Showed heart but now have just one win in eight. Really, really tough points to drop against a team without their three best players.
Austin FC: Please god go acquire someone who can pass the damn ball.
Houston Dynamo: My official prediction is that this team will start to cook once Jack McGlynn returns from international duty. I like the pieces a lot.
Colorado Rapids: Very necessary 4-point week. Need to get all three points at home this weekend, though, because they might be staring at a five-game losing streak directly after that.
FC Dallas: Still directionless.4
Racing Club de Charlotte: Six of the next eight at home, most of them very, very winnable. Dean Smith’s been hinting for weeks that their struggles are all down to the schedule; we’ll see if he’s partially correct.
Toronto FC: I picked them to win the Wooden Spoon before the season and that’s going to turn out to have been wrong. Still, all the teams from this point onwards are basically in the same tier of badness.
Real Salt Lake: Good road point, but it’s still been a massively disappointing season.
Sporting KC: Manu Garcia is good fun.
D.C. United: One win in two months, not developing any kids, and they’ve missed – badly – on the vast majority of their signings. A very tough watch.
Montreal Impact: Two wins in three!
LA Galaxy: Three results in four games. If Joseph Paintsil remembers how to finish, this team will avoid the Spoon.5
Atlanta United: Almost there!
St. Louis City: And… they made it to the bottom.
Well, one of the overall points. The other big overall point was that I’m an asshole. So… 1/2. Not bad!
I am convinced that this is a Messi issue, not a coaching issue. He’s got to sacrifice a bit for the good of the team on this one.
I’m sure they’ll go with a DP No. 9, but this team is in desperate need of a chance creating midfielder. It doesn’t have to be a pure 10 – Steve Cherundolo doesn’t play with one, as has been well-documented – but a Jose Cifuentes-style free 8 sure would help a ton!
This isn’t all his fault, but I’d really hoped that Eric Quill would develop young players and find answers via North Texas and the academy pipeline. He hasn’t.
What a ringing fucking endorsement, good lord.
Isn't a coaching issue a Messi issue as well?
I feel the Revs drifting into "why the hell should I care about this team?" territory.